26 October 2008: The UN kicked off its “UNite to Combat
Climate Change” campaign on 23 October 2008, with the “Paint for the Planet”
art exhibition. The exhibition was followed on 25 October 2008 by an auction
that raised US$21,000, which will be donated to children affected by
climate-related disasters.
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24 October 2008: The Sixth International Tourism Forum for
Parliamentarians and Local Authorities convened in Cebu, Philippines, from
22-24 October 2008. Attendees considered how national and local governments could
respond to the current economic downturn and maintain their commitments to
sustainability goals.
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24 October 2008: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) hosted the Global Business & Industry Dialogue on 23-24 October 2008, in Paris, France. This forum on climate change and resource efficiency brought together over 100 leaders from business, government and non-governmental organizations from developed and developing countries.
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24 October 2008: The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility
(FCPF), a World Bank programme that partners developing countries with
industrialized countries and The Nature Conservancy, a non-governmental
organization, in an effort to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD) in developing countries, convened its first operational
meeting from 20-22 October 2008, in Washington, DC, US. During the meeting, it
was decided that the programme should be expanded and that ten new developing
countries would be added to the 20 that had originally been selected.
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24 October 2008: During a UN System Chief Executives Board
Meeting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to support the poor
amid the global financial crisis, warning that gains made towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals could be reversed. The meeting brought together
Executive Heads of the UN specialized agencies, funds and programmes and the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund to undertake a wide-ranging
assessment of the ongoing global crisis in financial markets and the threat of
recession in the global economy.
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21 October 2008: The UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have submitted
reports on progress in the implementation of Article 4, paragraphs 8 and 9, of
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and of decision 1/CP.10
to the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation, which will hold its 29th
session in Poznan, Poland, from 1-10 December 2008.
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23 October 2008: The UN Human Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT) has launched “State of the World's Cities 2008/2009: Harmonious
Cities,” a flagship report published every two years by the UN agency.
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23 October 2008: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN
Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis participated in an
informal discussion with five eminent economists at UN Headquarters in New
York, US, on 23 October 2008. The talks focused on the global financial crisis
and its expected impact on efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
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23 October 2008: UN Day is observed annually worldwide on 24
October to commemorate the founding of the Organization in October 1945. To
celebrate UN Day 2008, the UN agencies in Japan will present a topical seminar
entitled “Climate Change: What We Can Do,” which aims to help the public better
understand the range of activities through which the UN is addressing the
challenge of climate change.
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23 October 2008: The Third Congress on Women in Politics and
Governance: Focus on Gender, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
took place from 19-22 October 2008, in Manila, Philippines. The event was
organized by the Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics in partnership with
the UN/International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), the UN
Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), among
other organizations.
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